Comments for PolitiFact Goes Post-Modern at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 8 out of 8 comments http://www.cepr.net Mon, 20 May 2013 08:54:50 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13652 David, I found some OECD stats. In 2009 Canada had the same physicians per capita. It was not broken down by specialty. [i]On another point, colonoscopy screenings are cost effective in that colon cancer is easily treatable when caught early[/i] Aaargh! It would take too long to describe my personal reasons for frustrations with statements such as this. Let me just say my frustration led me to this author:[url]http://www.amazon.com/Overdiagnosed-Making-People-Pursuit-Health/dp/0807021997/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324558883&sr=1-1[/url] The author is an internist with a background in economics. I will admit to reading a book that confirms my biases, but I still feel his argument is strong. - Kat Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:07:41 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13646 Here is a map [url]http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/health/physicians/physicians.html[/url] that illustrates that, on average, the per capita average physician to patient ratio is higher in at least half the the Eurozone, Russia ... Asia does worse. On another point, colonoscopy screenings are cost effective in that colon cancer is easily treatable when caught early; if not caught early, the costs are significant and the result painful. I doubt that most doctors (and perhaps GPs need to be excluded from this comment) are prescribing unnecessary procedures, I'd like to see figures on that assumption. - David Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:37:47 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13625 To bring these comments back to the issue: given the huge quantity and egregiousness of real Republican lies, Politicfact's position is scarily Orwellian. - bmz Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:41:39 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13624 Turns out the original source for the concept that Ryan's plan was killing Medicare was not Democrats, but rather was a piece in the Wall Street Journal by their Congressional reporter, Naftali Bendavi. So if they were determined to label the idea a lie--which it is not--they should have blamed the WSJ, not Democrats who picked the idea up and ran with it. But then PolitiFact didn't seem to be so much determined to turn up an actual lie as to blame Democrats for lying this year so as not to get the right wing in a huff by calling them out for their repeated lies. - RAM Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:40:45 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13617 Bart wrote: [quote]Our medical costs are driven by our physicians, hospital administrators, and drug and device manufacturers. We currently bring many foreign physicians here, both primary care and specialty care. I am not aware of any study that shows they practice differently from the physicians in the communities they join.[/quote] I agree. How does it drive health care costs down if we bring in physicians that are just going to perform more screening colonoscopies or cardiac caths? At any rate-- do countries such as Canada or the UK really have more physicians per capita than the U.S.? - Kat Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:50:58 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13613 Bart, average compensation for physicians in Europe if around half of what it is in the U.S. They have this in their health care statistics, which unfortunately you have to buy. I might be able to dig up these data in a free spot on their website, but I don't have the time right now to track it down. Anyhow, if we brought more physicians into the U.S. it would drive down the wages of physicians just like immigrant construction workers bring down the wages of construction workers in the United States. - Dean Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:43:13 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13611 Is this another fact that could only have been purchased in secret by Citizens United? - Union Member Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:38:10 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/politifact-goes-post-modern#comment-13609 First of all, I enjoy and respect your critiques of media stories about economics, which are almost as error-ridden as stories about medicine. But I hope I'm not simply reacting defensively when I question your recommendation for importing more foreign physicians, as competition, to correct our excessive medical costs. Our medical costs are driven by our physicians, hospital administrators, and drug and device manufacturers. We currently bring many foreign physicians here, both primary care and specialty care. I am not aware of any study that shows they practice differently from the physicians in the communities they join. The difference between high-cost communities and lower-cost communities is the result of physician practice choices, as most fluently described by Atul Gawande, MD, in the New Yorker (e.g.,the 6/1/09 issue and his 6/23/09 blog post). Can you direct me to any study that shows foreign-born and/or trained physicians practice more cost-effective medicine in America than other physicians? I know this current post wasn't directed to this point, but you've brought it up several times in posts which I didn't see right away. I agree our costs are excessive and would do more to bring them down, if I knew what that would be (I suspect restricting physicians' freedom to order any test or treatment they wished would have to be part of it). - Bart Hobson, MD Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:12:04 +0100